Kayaking helpful for rafting? A Case Study on the South Yuba
March 5th, 2008 by Robyn SuddethI’ve heard many kayakers utter the following words: “Kayaking improves your water-reading skills for rafting because you learn to respond to smaller and subtler currents.” Well this winter, I have had a lot of opportunity to test that theory. Here is the conclusion I’ve come to: Kayaking certainly does improve your rafting skills, but even more than because of having to read smaller currents, it is because you have to become a quick and scrappy fighter in order to stay upright and/or survive.
When my kayaking roommates are planning trips to narrow creeks (in which rafts don’t fit) I am faced with two options: Inflatable kayak or stay home. Not being one to enjoy sitting at home, I choose to kayak. Mind you, this is not the hardshell, more graceful looking kayaks that star in adventure videos and the Olympics. No, this is the blow-up kind that behaves like an errant and easily distracted toddler even under the best attempts at control. (Everyone else on the trip is usually in a hardshell, however, making me feel especially cool).
Three weekends ago I got another chance to improve my water-reading skills, (more…)
The slightly skewed deductive reasoning skills of a raft guide:
California’s New River is a tributary to the better-known Trinity River, flowing out of the majestic Trinity Alps and dropping in to the Trinity at the end of a popularly-boated section called Burnt Ranch Gorge. The New is described in guide books as a Class III/IV run up to the last 2 miles before the Trinity confluence. At that point, the canyon walls begin to significantly narrow and steepen, and the river plunges into a committing Class V+ gorge. This last section is rarely run by kayakers, and even less often by raft.